Support Pours In to Newtown

People pay their respects at a makeshift shrine to the victims of an elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Monday.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

By

Jackie Bischof and

Alison Fox

Dec. 17, 2012 9:18 p.m. ET

SANDY HOOK, Conn.—From donated toys and Christmas trees to offers of trauma counseling and sessions with therapy dogs, communities across the country have rushed to support the shaken residents of Newtown, Conn., in any way they can.

Over the weekend, as the nation mourned the 27 victims of the deadly rampage, flower arrangements began appearing around town. The bouquets had been donated by strangers from afar, and members of the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company took care to place them at makeshift memorials.

Profiles of the Victims

An anonymous donor from North Carolina purchased 26 Christmas trees—one for each victim at the Sandy Hook Elementary School—and the evergreens lined the street around the firehouse where children and parents had gathered in the hours after Friday's shooting.

The symbols of the holiday became solemn stand-ins, with names of the dead displayed on silver star ornaments. Neighbors filled the branches with stuffed animals and other memorabilia.

"It's truly amazing, we've been getting support from all over the country," said volunteer firefighter Briana Richardson. She said the firehouse, which had been a fixture in news reports, has been overwhelmed with calls from people wanting to help "any time now or in the future."

Shipments of toys and food sent to the firehouse have been diverted to Newtown Youth and Family Services, a nonprofit mental-health organization that has begun offering counseling to locals.

On Monday afternoon, Pete and Jackie Tomaino came from Brookfield, Conn., in search of a way to pay their respects and a sense of closure. Looking visibly distraught, they walked over to a street corner lined with Christmas trees, and Mr. Tomaino laid a stuffed animal on one of the branches.

"In all the negativity there is still light. It's somewhere," said Ms. Tomaino, 68 years old. "We're all normal Americans, this is how we react when this happens. We all come together in a time of crisis."

Local business owners have been fielding dozens of calls from those looking for any way to connect with the community.

At the Toy Tree, a shop in Sandy Hook, employee Colleen Durkin, 18, said one caller had asked to pay for $150 of toys to be given to victims' families. Other customers have left the store with bags of toys for children at the school.

ENLARGE

In Tirana, children on Monday light candles to pay their respects.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Louise Tambascio, a co-owner of My Place Pizza and Restaurant, said the bar had received more than 100 calls from people searching for ways to donate money. The establishment has been mentioned in news reports as a regular haunt of Nancy Lanza, the mother of the suspected gunman and the first victim of the killing spree.

Ms. Tambascio and her son answered the phone Monday and yelled out the locations of the callers after hanging up. One second-grade class from California had raised $200. A woman in Pakistan reached out with $100.

"It hasn't stopped at all this morning," said Ms. Tambascio, who is using the money to buy pizzas and food for affected families. "We're just overwhelmed with the kindness from everyone all over the world."

The website for the school at the center of the shooting requests that donations be made to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, which has been organized by the United Way of Western Connecticut. David Deschenes, a spokesman for the local chapter, said a bank will oversee the money and abide by decisions made by town leaders.

"Long term," Mr. Deschenes said, "we're going to be looking at a lot of mental-health support, a lot of counseling on a number of different levels."

United Way will also reach out to other funds to explore consolidating resources. A fund set up by parents of children who survived, My Sandy Hook Family Fund, has raised over $45,000, according to a report published by the Newtown Bee.

ENLARGE

Therapy dog Luther from Lutheran Church Charities was one of the 10 golden retrievers that visited with grieving children.
Lutheran Church Charities

Online efforts have also attracted donors. On Facebook,FB-1.26% organizers from Utah have launched the Emilie Parker Fund to support the family of a 6-year-old victim.

Ryan Kraft, 25, attended Sandy Hook Elementary School for one year in 1997. He set up a page on the website Crowdrise and has raised over $75,000, which he plans to give to the school's parent-teacher association.

In a local church, meanwhile, 10 golden retrievers have been providing the sort of comfort to grieving children that only dogs can. The shaggy pack traveled from Chicago in a relief effort by Lutheran Church Charities.

The comfort dogs include a pup named Luther who offers "unconditional love," said Tim Hetzner, president of the group. "In some cases, [people] start talking to the dog as if it is a counselor. Our dogs are confidential and don't keep notes."

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